ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — Lawmakers and health advocates rallied at the State Capitol on Tuesday to back the Maternal Health, Dignity, and Consent Act. That proposed bill, S845/A860, would block tests of pregnant people and newborns for drugs, alcohol, or weed without informed consent, meaning clear permission from the test subject.

Under the measure, doctors, nurses, and other licensed health care workers can’t drug test someone who is pregnant or who gave birth within the past year without their specific written and spoken consent. The same rule would apply to testing new parents and newborns, with a parent or guardian required to sign off and voice permission.

The Maternal Health, Dignity, and Consent Act would also cover both lab tests of blood, urine, or hair and verbal or written screening tools, like questionnaires from caregivers. In emergencies, when a delayed test could pose a risk to someone’s life or health, those consent rules would be waived. Even so, staff would still have to explain the test afterward in simple terms and record their reasons. The act would also prohibit refusing care for someone who declines testing.

The act defines “drug” as any controlled substance under Public Health Law Section 3306, while “cannabis” refers to marijuana and concentrates defined in the Penal Law.

The Tuesday rally outside the Senate Chamber included State Senator Julia Salazar and Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, both sponsors of the bill in their respective houses. Here’s Rosenthal:

She noted a recent case in Glens Falls where a new mother received a false positive on a drug test, and “Child Protective Services was knocking on the door as soon as she returned home from the hospital with her baby.” She said the bill would “end the weaponization of the child welfare system” and talked about the lack of trust in the medical system.

“My body is not yours to test on when you want to,” Rosenthal said. “I have to say, ‘Yes, I agree.'”

And Salazar revealed during her remarks that the bipartisan, “common sense” bill made it out of the Health Committee earlier on Tuesday. They’re now aiming for a floor vote before the legislative session ends:

For every 100,000 births statewise, according to the New York State Department of Health, there are 19.3 maternal deaths, with Black women dying at more than four times that rate. And over seven out of 10 of those deaths are preventable, officials say.

Supporters of the bill at the rally—including doulas, social workers, nurses, and members of reproductive rights groups—say it will help shrink the racial gap in maternal deaths by building trust between patients and their health providers. If signed into law, it would take effect immediately, making New York the first state to enshrine these informed consent rules in law.

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